In Which I Become a Cartoon Illustration

Yes, friends!!! You read that right! It’s always been my dream to see myself in cartoon illustration form and, well, thanks to illustrator Melissa Hiebert, that dream is now a full-color reality!! I’m so excited to share this with you today, as well as an interview with the illustrator herself tomorrow — be on the lookout for that!

So! Here’s the backstory: We all know that Twitter can be a very unfriendly and cruel place. As much as I love Twitter, it can feel like a wild jungle sometimes with all the trolls on the loose! I’ve even written about said trolls, both in a blog post and for CNN Opinion, and it was that CNN op-ed that brought all sorts of trolls out of the woodwork. All. The. Trolls.

Oh, trust me, I had some dizzying days after that piece was published. Who knew people could feel so threatened by a strong woman standing up for herself and other women? You’d think I’d just committed a major crime, like, oh, I don’t know, influenced a certain presidential election, because all the nasty comments were “Look at that monster!” “Who does she think she is?” “Eww, you’re really ugly!” “Go away and shut up…”

And then? Well, I found this gem from a lovely little troll, who bestowed a very interesting title on me. I saw the tweet, seethed with rage for a bit and then had a revelation of sorts…

PURVEYOR OF THE MATRIARCHY IS THE BEST TITLE EVER.

It’s not an insult at all and, well, that’s exactly how I’ve viewed it ever since. I mean, think about it! It’s a veritable gold mine for my brand, obviously. I can see it now — shirts, cups, pencils, hats. A whole line of products emblazoned with the words Purveyor of the Matriarchy. It would be such an empowering and reaffirming message, especially in this disgusting time of toxic masculinity. After all, women are strong. Women are powerful. Women are brave. Women ARE the true Purveyor of the Matriarchy. And that is truly something to be proud of! Heck, I want to shout it from the rooftops!

Honestly, I don’t think this troll knew at the time that he was actually giving me an incredible gift. A truly incredible gift. In fact, it was actually one of the highlights of 2017 for me and I highly doubt that troll was planning on that. And I’m positive that he wasn’t expecting that I’d turn his little “insult” into a vibrant cartoon illustration!

As I wrote in that CNN op-ed: “In that tangled web of hateful tweets, someone called me the Purveyor of the Matriarchy. It was meant to be an insult, but I couldn’t help but see it as a compliment — a call to duty, even. I’m never going to be quiet, especially not on Twitter and social media. I’m not going away. And I’ll always stand up — and speak out — for women everywhere.”

I’m about to make my cartoon illustration my cover photo on social media and I can barely contain my excitement!!!! AHHHHHH!!!! I’m so grateful to illustrator Melissa and can’t wait to share my interview with her tomorrow!!!

Oh, and don’t you love how she worked my blog title into the cartoon illustration?? I love how it’s on my shirt — sort of like how I tend to wear my heart and emotions on my sleeve for the entire world to see!

What do you think, friends?? Do you think this perfectly captures my purveyor-ness?? I totally need to get those Purveyor of the Matriarchy shirts made!! Or at least get a hashtag going!!! Let’s tweet #PurveyorOfTheMatriarchy and get it trending!!

“Purveyor of the Matriarchy”, is it????? I. LOVE. IT.!!!!!!! Thanks so much for this story, it is so perfect, and I so love the way an intended unkindness, turned into a wonderful compliment/mantra!!!!! When the T-shirts are ready, I will need a large, love my shirts nice and roomy!!!!! Did I mention how very, very, much I like the “cartoon you”!!!!! Stay well, my friend. Blessings, Always.

So About What I Said is a daily blog that covers relationships, disabilities, lifestyle and pop culture. I love to laugh and have been known to overshare. I also have an unabashed obsession with pop music, polo shirts, and PEZ dispensers. Read more...